RIYADH - SAUDI Arabia's agriculture ministry said on Wednesday that more than 3.5 million birds have been culled or are in the process of being destroyed following an outbreak of bird flu.
'More than 3.5 million birds have been or are being culled since the first infection (with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu) was detected' on Nov 12, said a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.
The ministry said new cases of bird flu had been detected in farms west and south of Riyadh.
The ministry has singled out migrant birds as the source of the disease, and stressed again on Wednesday the need to refrain from hunting them.
Saudi Arabia banned all live poultry imports after bird flu was last detected in the kingdom in March. In April, neighbouring Kuwait culled 1.7 million birds after the strain was found.
There are no reports of the disease spreading to humans in either country.
The H5N1 strain first emerged in Asia in 2003, and has caused some 205 deaths in humans, with Indonesia and Vietnam among the worst hit countries, according to World Health Organisation figures. -- AFP
